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The Erin Hills Golf Course is a hybrid course on the rolling hills between
links and farmland. There are no trees to separate holes in this very
natural layout set on a rugged landscape, and the views throughout the
entire course are breathtaking. The fairways and greens are firmly protected
by fescue grasses and/or a series of bunkers. The greens are huge and
highly undulating. When you are on some of elevated teeing grounds or
greens, you can see 360-degree views of the surrounding course. Erin Hill
is a large-scale, wild, and windswept course. Although the course appears
quite orthodox, each hole is very long & quite challenging, and the
course offers each player a stern test of golf. This course hosted the
Nationwide Amateur Open in 2012, and was selected as the 2017 US Open.
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The opening hole is a par five that bends left twice. Players should
avoid the deep Fescue roughs that run alongside the left side of the fairway.
The second shot needs to be cleared a left fairway bunker followed by
the downhill third shot. The green slopes to left.
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A short par four with a slight dogleg to the right. Unless players hit long
enough on the tee shot, they may end up with a blind second shot. The green
is elevated and small.
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The fourth hole is a straight hole. Players should pay attention to the
fairway bunker on the right off the tee. The second shot is gentle uphill,
and players have to avoid the bunkers that guard the green’s front and front
left sections. The green is shallow and its backside slopes downwards, so
players should avoid going long and over the green at all costs. |
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The sixth hole is a par three with quite some distance. The green is elevated
and is guarded by a bunker to its right. The green is 48 yards deep, and
slopes downwards from the green’s front to the end. |
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A par five with a dogleg that bends to the left. The tee and second shots
are slightly downhill. Positioning and accuracy on the second shot is important
since there are several bunkers are positioned around is landing area. The
third shot is uphill. The green is two-tried and is split between left and
right. Players should also note that the green tilts towards the right.
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The ninth hole is a relatively short par three. The green is deep, elevated
and is surrounded by seven bunkers. The green strongly slopes from the
center to the right. There are many three-putts on this hilgy undulating
green.
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The tenth hole is a long par four with a dogleg that bends to the right.
Although the tee shot is blind, the ball will probably land safe since the
fairway is quite generous. Long hitters will get an extra bonus, as they
will be able to hit long enough to catch the downhill fairway. The green
is wide and is double-tired. Approaching becomes difficult when the pin
position is on the right, as two guard bunkers placed in right front of
the green will come into play. |
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A long par four with a dogleg that bends to the right. The tee shot is
a gently uphill over the fescue rough. The fairway is heavily undulated.
The green is vertically long, with the front two-third sloping from back
to front, and the back one-third sloping vise-versa.
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The fourteenth hole is a par five with a double dogleg which first bends
slightly to the left, and then to the right. Off the tee shot, players
should pay attention to a bunker that’s placed in the center of the fairway.
The second shot will have a narrow landing area and both the second and
third will require the ball to be hit over an uphill fairway. The green
is tiered, steeply slopes to the right, and is guarded by a bunker on
the right. Unless players hit accurately and use solid course managment,
it will be quite difficult to save a par on this demanding par five.
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A short par four with a left dogleg bend. It is important for players to
avoid the seven fairway bunkers that are spread up all the way out to the
green. The green is a strongly elevated with a ridge running through the
middle. The backside of the green surface tilts downward. |
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The finishing hole is a par five that is straight for the first 400 yards
followed by a dogleg to the left for the last 200 yards. This is a very
long and difficult hole. The fairway on the second shot slopes to the
left, and the third shot is uphill. If players hit towards the left side
of the green, they may find their balls rolling down to the bottom of
a long slope. There are six bunkers that protect the green’s front side.
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In order to get to Erin Hills, it is an hour by car from
Milwaukee and 2 hours 15 minutes from the Chicago O'Hare Airport. A public
course. It is also 15 minutes by car from the AmericInn Hotel & Suites
Hartford. There is a lodge available in the course. The meal at the golf
course restaurant is good.
In 2016, this course was chosen as the 3rd best in Wisconsin State by
the golf review website, the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World (top 100
golfcourses.com). There are about 500 courses in all of Wisconsin.
The course was co-designed by Michael Hurzan, Dana Fry, and Ron Witten.Their
famous works are Calusa Pines GC, FarmLinks GC, Shelter Harbor GC and
Ledges CC in America, and Devil's Paintbrush GC in Canada.
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Hole 1 Par 5 608 yards (3)